Any OK 15" tires out there?

[Brian_P]

I have a '67 Camaro RS that currently has Radial T/A's in 235/60R15 - they're 10+ yrs old and need to be replaced. They're not so good for handling or grip. I know that 17" wheels would open up a ton of tire options and will probably have to make the switch whenever I can afford to upgrade my suspension. Unfortunately, that day has not arrived yet and I need a new set of tires. I also like the 15" wheel look (love the old Trans-Am cars with 15" torq thrusts or minilites). Use is local driving with short highway jaunts. No track. Not worried about tread life or mileage at this point.

-The only decent thing I see in 235/60R15 is the Pirelli P600 ($274/tire!!) although M+H makes a drag radial (good for the street? no clue) and there are always the Mickey Thompsons (only the S/T comes in this size as far as street tires, unless the ET street radial is safe for street use, which I sort of doubt).
-In the 225/60R15, you add the Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring ($79/tire) which is new tech albeit not truly high performance. Might still be interesting on a muscle car! Also have the Avon CR6ZZ which is awesome but $$$$$$.

I know the "right" answer is upgrading to bigger wheels but I can't be the only person that really does like the 15" wheel appearance. Has anyone used any of these or found anything worth buying in 15" sizes? Or is the Radial T/A really the only game in town?

[Tomswheels]

215/65/15 Pirelli P4 is what I used, looks the same as a 235/60 mounted on a 7 inch rim, $90 each on Tirerack with a $60 rebate on four... The other even cheaper option is the 225/60/15 Fuzion for $60 each, actually has a higher speed rating than your Radial T/A...

[projectfolly]

I have Pirelli P235-60-15s on 15 x 7 Pontiac Rally II wheels. I swap them back and forth on my '69 Judge with the original 14 x 6 Rally IIs with reproduction redline bias plies.
They transform the way the car drives and handles!
I've found that they are very good all around use tires.

[High Plains Mopars]

In 15" sizes, there are two that come to mind as probably a couple of the best 15" street tires and those are the Maxxis Marauder MA-S1 and the Mickey Thompson SR. Both are H speed rated and are built on newer carcass designs. The Maxxis does have a 360 tread wear rating, which means it is hard, whereas the MT does not have a tread wear rating at all and the reps at MT are claiming around 15k worth of mileage out of them, which would mean they are considerably softer than the Maxxis. However, the Mickey's are not metric sized but inch sized so you'll need to do your own math conversions for equivilents.

Avons are nice but are really just a d.o.t. race tire and at $300+ per tire, not an inexpensive option.


Here is an extensive read on 15" tires, although since this thread began, the number of choices have shrunk even more.
https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/34692-Options-for-15-quot-tires-Options-I-have-found-but-which-to-chose

[Brian_P]

Appreciate all the suggestions! The Mickey Thompson S/R looks perfect. If I could be sure that the 26x10.0R15 would fit on the front of a '67 Camaro I'd get them. Looking at specs, a 7" wheel would pull the section width in a bit but it might still be too wide. I know the old Trans-Am cars used something a little bigger than that but I'm pretty sure they had modified wheel wells. Never heard of Maxxis; based on the internet they appear to be a light truck tire. Anyone used them on a musclecar and liked them? Definitely like the price. I may need to bite the bullet and pay for the Pirellis. They really do seem awesome although the price gives me some heartburn.

[High Plains Mopars]

An 10 inch width is the equivalent of 255, so that's a skosh wider than your current 235. I'm running the 26x10 on an 8 inch rim under the front of my Dodge and its pretty wide and clears everything, but I've got bigger wheel wells than a first gen Camaro. I also went pretty specific with backspacing to avoid interference. I have noticed that the SRs are spot on for their measurements. The 7" rim will pull it in a bit. A BFG 235/60 is 9.5 section width, so at 10" section width, you adding .25" per side. I'd check the limits of travel with your 235 and see if you can afford .25" plus some change for deflection at all your critical points. The SR is also available in 6" (155)and 8" (205) widths, so you shouldn't have any trouble fitting either of those to your Camaro.

No experience on the Maxxis, but they do have the wide sizes in 15" diameters. I wouldn't worry about it being a truck tire. That might actually be good for sidewall support. Finding a local distributor may be more of a challenge.

There is also the Hoosier Pro Street Radial in 26x7.5x15 and 28x9.50x15. Those are section widths, not tread widths. 28 is a bit tall for a front tire though.

[wendell]

Brian,
As you know, we're going through this together. The S/R doesn't quite fit the bill size wise. In a prefect world you'd have a 26 X 9". If a 26 X 10" fits in the front of a 68 Camaro, its going to be REALLY close and even w/ the right backspace (4.5" on a 8") it's still going to be car specific.
I'm currently trying to muster the stones to run the ET street radials (26x9.5 and 27x10.5) on all four corners. 1

[Brian_P]

Ah, Wendell - not a surprise that you're over here as well! I'm half tempted to buy a set of S/Rs, try them on the front to see if they work with only a little loss of turning radius (their aspect ratio is 55 rather than 60 so perhaps they would fit a bit better than a 60-series tire in the same section width?), and if I fail, just throw them on the back with a narrower front (though the 26x8.0 is basically a 205/70R15 which is definitely giving up some tread width). Wish our wheel wells were the size of Tony's Dodge's! The ET streets look awesome but the wet-weather performance might be problematic. And finally, the Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum is a bit smaller (225/60R15), which isn't ideal, but is V-speed rated, which is definitely interesting. Seem to get great reviews from the BMW guys even despite the relatively high treadwear rating.

[wendell]

Buy a pair 9.5X26" ET street Radials for the front of your car. Tell me how it goes (digital wink). If it doesn't work you can put them on the rear. If they do work, you've solved the riddle for us all.

Personally,I'm not as worried about wet traction as I am about side wall stiffness.

[MonzaRacer]

Hankook Ventus H101 seem to be pretty good in 15" range. Used to sell quite a few at Pep Boys. Much stickier than the house brand made by Cooper.

[High Plains Mopars]

The Ventus H101 looks interesting, but in 265, 275 and 295, are wider than what the OP thinks will work on his combo.

[Brian_P]

Yeah, those widths are fine in the rear but the front of a Gen 1 Camaro is pretty tight. I have a tiny (acceptable) amount of rubbing on the frame at lock with a 235/60R15 on a 15x7 rim! Granted, some serious suspension mods can help but would probably preclude the use of a 15" wheel, and I'm sort of hoping to maximize the stock-ish setup first.

Did stumble across the Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial S/S yesterday - coming out in the near future to replace a few of the ET Street lines along with a more strip-oriented tire (the ET Street R). The S/S has a sticky compound, steel-belted radial, tread designed to shed some water, and is available in both 235/60R15 and 275/50R15. If I can either find them on sale now or make my present tires last a little bit longer, will probably give that a try.

[wendell]

Bumping this because I just had a set of MT ET street S/S delivered. 235/60-15 and 255/60-15. Should have them mounted on a set of 8" minilites by early next week.

[Buryingthesun]

Bumping this because I just had a set of MT ET street S/S delivered. 235/60-15 and 255/60-15. Should have them mounted on a set of 8" minilites by early next week.

Please post pictures! I am quite interested in them